BT River of Music: Penguin Cafe interview for London 2012

Arthur Jeffes tells Adam Sweeting about his new-look Penguin Cafe
band's exotic hybrid of classical and global styles, ahead of their
performance at BT River of Music.

Penguin Cafe will perform at BT River of Music, part of London 2012 Festival.

By Adam Sweeting

7:51PM BST 16 Jul 2012

“Cheerfully beautiful chaos,” is how Arthur Jeffes describes the music he makes with Penguin Cafe. The group is carrying on the legacy of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, created by Arthur’s father Simon Jeffes 40 years ago. The original outfit was sawn off in its prime by Simon’s death in 1997, but it wasn’t until Arthur played some concerts with the original band to mark the tenth anniversary of his father’s death that he realised how much he missed its music.

“We played some shows at the Union Chapel, and it was like meeting an old friend that I thought I’d never see again,” he remembers. “I’d grown up with my dad’s music and the albums are brilliant, but when it’s played live it becomes a different creature.”

Still, it wasn’t until a year later that the new-look Penguin Cafe band took wing. Arthur was invited to play at a festival at Potentino Castle in Italy, and he brought along a handful of friends. “We had this amazing weekend of playing my dad’s music with lots of wine and general messing around,” says Arthur. “It was the perfect example of how a troubadour’s travelling life might be.”

The event proved to be the catalyst for the Penguins’ rebirth. They were invited to play more gigs and Jeffes brought in some extra musicians. Mixing original Penguin Cafe Orchestra music with new compositions, the unit blossomed into an exotic hybrid, mixing global styles with classical disciplines and eccentric instrumentation.

At Somerset House, in addition to playing such Penguin classics as Music for a Found Harmonium and Telephone and Rubber Band, they’ll be joined for a couple of songs by Fyfe Dangerfield, from the equally adventurous Guillemots.

“It’ll be a seabird-themed event,” chortles Jeffes. “We don’t normally work with singers, but Fyfe is quite special.” If you want more, Jeffes plays in Greenwich the following day with his duo Sundog. “It’s still under the Penguin Cafe umbrella, but it’s more cinematic and a little more electro,” he promises.

Penguin Cafe appear on Saturday July 21 on the BT River of Music Europe stage, Somerset House. For tickets see www.btriverofmusic.com